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Saturday, March 31, 2007

Daytime Happening: Mitch Wilson's Gi-normous Record Sale @ 3340 Bancroft St. between Upas and Thorn. He still has 10 crates of records left- underground stuff, rock, reggae, 80s, jazz, ska, punk, dr. demento, etc. Archival Sound will be opening soon in University Heights (by Live Wire) and they still need some recording gear...

Deadbolt, Hell On Heels @ Ken Club

Postals, Meatwagon @ Rhythm Lounge

Sevendust, Diecast, Invitro @ House of Blues

Atomic Punks, Phenomenon @ Belly Up

Mr. Tube and The Flying Objects, ¡Society! @ Tower Bar

Cash'd Out, The Palominos @ Casbah

Mouth of the Architect, Riverberb @ Scolari's

The Screamin Yeehaws, The Buzzbombs, The Farewell Boys, The Bandits @ Zombie Lounge

The Cured, Still Ill, Blasphemous Guitars @ 4th & B ( I have a free pair of tix if anyone wants them)

If you're like me and heading to the Belly Up tomorrow night for TV on The Radio and The Noisettes, you probably need some grub beforehand to lay the base for massive alcohol consumption. Consider heading to The Tower Bar for their FREE! SUNDAY! BBQ! John will be on the grill serving up rip tips and chicken (proposed but not confirmed menu). It'll be finger lickin heaven, and nobody will care when the BBQ sauce drips on your shirt. If you care, bring a bib. Yums! The food should be coming off the grill right around 3 p.m.

There are few worse ways to spend a beautiful afternoon in sunny San Diego than sitting on a computer, so this one is gonna be really brief. I'll get to the regular recap later but the quick summary of my Friday is that Sophie and I pulled the rare 5-spots-in-one-night action: free booze at Wine Cabana, Cloak at the Habitat House, A Weeks Worth and Dynamite Walls at the Beauty Bar, The Corvinas and The Husbands at the Tower, and a nightcap at the Ken Club. In addition, there was a mini after party at my place till 4 am. Later I intend to extend my "things to do" through next week, but for now, a couple hot newsy bits:

This is not a statement of fact, just some gossip I heard last night, but Matt Hensley, pro skater and member of Flogging Molly, has purchased Squid Joe's in Carlsbad. From what I'm told, he intends to make it a more viable north county music venue by creating a stage area and investing in some good sound equipment. The new club will be called the Pink Elephant. It just might get this girl to venture north of the 8 a little more frequently... Jay Allen Sanford, you know where to send my check :)

Lou's records sent out this little offer:

Purchase the newest MEW album, "And the Glass Handed Kites" and recieve a free ticket to see them live at the Belly Up on Sunday, April 4th. You must be 21 years of age or older to get into the show. We will email you when you can pick up your tickets at the store once your order has been processed.

Actually, the show is on Sunday, April 8th, so you have time to get your online order in for the CD. Click here for their site.That's all I've got for now; time to go bake in the sun with my dog. -out-

Friday, March 30, 2007

As you know, our boy Troy Johnson and his show Fox Rox got the axe from Fox.A week later, his other TV show, Outta Left Field, a Padres pre-game show, saw the axe swing, too.Well, he's back on the saddle and will be on Free FM 103.7 tonight from 10p-12a with Edwin Decker doing a talk show. They will talk about anything and everything, so if you're around a radio, tune in, and if you're really fired up about something (like corporate television stations not willing to take a loss for community programming) call in and talk to them. The number to call is 619.570.1037.Good luck, Troy. We're all pulling for ya.*****There's a dude whose music project is called The Secret Handshake and his shit ain't half bad. It makes me wanna shake my ass and you know I'm not one who usually shakes my ass. He's filming his music video in San Diego next week. He needs people to be in that video. Here's his message:

i'm gonna be filming my next MUSIC VIDEO for "SUMMER OF '98" - SATURDAY APRIL 7th and SUNDAY APRIL 8th in SAN DIEGO, CA... NEXT WEEKEND!!

i need people to be in it !!

so if you're in the SAN DIEGO/LOS ANGELES area ext bweekend and are available sat or sun - send an email to: talent@etypical.tv

please include your name, email, phone and myspace address so they can get in touch with you and give you more details!

see you there!!-luis*****That's the news for now. I'm off to wine cabana to pretend I'm a lawyer for hosted wine and hors d'oeuvres. You should, too! (hey, they put it on a public website. I can't help it.)

Opening Night of Club Pop Noir @ Static Lounge. This is an 18+ dance club but does have a bar for those 21+. If you're visiting San Diego for Spring Break, I highly recommend going to this bar. $10, 9pm- 2am, 634 Broadway, Downtown.

I know I am not speaking for myself when I say last night was amazing in many ways. No cover for three amazing bands, amazing band posters and music photography hanging on the walls, hosted Han Vodka drinks (at least for the first hour or so), and a ton of local music supporters, including many in bands that were reviewed in the demo issue of CityBeat. And for those of you bitter about bad reviews, Seth Combs was there so you missed your chance to kick his ass. Along with most of the CityBeat staff, Tim Pyles was there hanging out, as was Chickrawker, Roman Spring, some of Vinyl Radio (among many others) and Ruggy (Notorious R.U.G) and Jamal (Kid Lightning) were on the tables. I got the chance to talk to John Paul and recommended that GOP blog about their SXSW experience so hopefully they do that soon. Like the girly girl I am, Kristen and I chatted in the baño about music, SXSW, blogs, and people who diss San Diego. The whole deal was a pretty rad night, to say the least.The Airlines were the first band on. Troy was embarassed that in his introduction he said that he liked their recorded stuff but had never seen them live so "they could totally suck." They didn't suck, in fact, and I was wondering where they've been hiding because they were really good. They were described to me as sounding very "Strokes-ish", but I'm not really a Strokes fan so that description didn't really work for me. I wish I could offer up better, but did I mention there was FREE. VODKA.??? Anyway, I loved them, and they're all pretty damn sexy, too. Extra points for the singer using the box in front of the stage as a stage extension. I tried to convince Eric of Swim Party to use the box but he politely declined. Can't win em all.Double extra points for bravely playing a sped up version of "California Stars."By the way, I'm really glad that I was basically described as an annoying photographer by CityBeat because it gave me license just squeeze on up and take pics.No review for Swim Party and Grand Ole Party because, well, you already know I love both; I think both are amazing not only for their music but because they represent the best of what San Diego has to offer. Good peeps and good tunes. Doesn't get much better than that.Swim Party:

Alex, is that a big hunk in your pocket??Grand Ole Party:I! N! S! A! N! E!Let those record deals pour in! And now I shall lay myself down for a looong nap.

I'm really sorry that I'm lagging on my Wednesday recap, but part of it was that I learned so much at the discussion with Tim Westergren of Pandora and The Music Genome Project that I didn't want to trivialize his presentation.

Ultimately, what it really boils down to is Pandora.com is a really cool site and the recent ruling to TRIPLE music licensing costs for online streaming music services retroactively to 2006 is basically gonna wipe out all currently legal online music as we know it. It supposedly protects record labels who are scrambling to stay afloat but as listeners and online users, it is up to us to tell our congressional representatives that this is not ok.

Here's my start to a synopsis:

"Tim talked about the history of the company and the evolution of their idea and how it coincided with the “bubble burst” of 2000. The Music Genome Project is a grand plan to break down songs to their base forms, extracting all the parts and rating those parts for prominence. There are 400 such traits that are rated. Various combinations of handfuls of those traits make up what they call Musical Attributes. Pandora is the internet radio that then uses the Music Genome information to find music for you that you like. You tell it to play a song or an artist and it will extract other music that it thinks you would like, guided by your thumbs up or down rating.

What I didn’t know about the Music Genome Project was that Pandora actually employs 50 musicians who go through intense training to listen to songs and break every song down with this comprehensive analysis of 400 traits. It is truly fascinating. The database currently has over 600k songs and more than half of those are independent, unsigned bands. Any band can submit their music. I happened to have a Vinyl Radio CD on hand so I slipped it to Tim at the end of the presentation." I am leaving out so much, but it's all leaking outta my brain so that's all you get. After the talk (and after some ghetto Church's Fried Chicken), Andrea and I headed to the Sports Club to see the Cash Kings and Blasphemous Guitars. There isn't much to say about the Cash Kings except that if you love Johnny Cash and want to see a band play covers as Johnny would play and sing them, go see the Cash Kings. They don't take any creative liberties, they play it straight. The singer looked familiar and later I learned that he's the bassist for Hot Rod Lincoln, a band that has been on the local scene forever.In high school my friends and I used to go see them play by the Mission Beach rollercoaster and swing dance to their music. As far as the Cash Kings go, I liked them but man, was I zonked. Apparently everyone in San Diego was as well because there were very few people there. And by very few I mean for a while the only other people there were the band members from Blasphemous Guitars. During the set more people showed up and some were even dancing, but still, the crowd was so thin, as Adam said, it was "sad but funny." It was pretty late so Andrea and I decided to call it a night.The following may or may not (not) be an account of the rest of our night. It may or may not actually be written by Adam Gimbel. As Paul Harvey would say, "and now, the rest of the story."Andrea & I were going to leave early but we had second thoughts and started walking back to SDSC. Out of nowhere, a proverbial ton of people showed up and we had to wait in line for 10 minutes just to get back in (thanks again for the last minute guestlistin’, Adam). I know I’m always saying that there’s a black cloud over that club but, for one glorious moment, a light shone down like a ray from heaven as the Blasphemous Guitars took the stage. I don’t know how they drew that many people in such a short time on a Wednesday night but I’ve never seen any club that packed EVER. I’ve seen the Blasphemers a few times but they really outdid themselves last night. They were so taken aback by the size and enthusiasm of the crowd that they started to take requests and played songs they’d never rehearsed like they’d been doing them for years. “I Melt For You” was FEROCIOUS and “Crazy Train” threatened to resurrect the ghost of Randy Rhodes himself (plus the bit of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” was a nice touch). The only way I could get a decent shot of the band was to crowdsurf up and take one from onstage (it looks like Adam took it of himself but I swear it was me).

The place was so crazy that the cops showed up to shut down the show before they could even get to their pre-planned Hurt/Personal Jesus/Rusty Cage “Johnny Cash” medley. Truly awesome. And we were gonna LEAVE! There is NO way I’m going to miss the debut of their mashup club M*A*S*H*UP UNIT 619 next Saturday night at SDSC. I just hope I can get in.

Thanks to everyone for all the e-mails and love. I'm glad people are finding this blog useful in some way. Thanks again to CityBeat. If you pick up a print copy, they used a pic of my site. My mom is so proud. (More like, "What is a blog, exactly?") I hope everyone in San Diego that reads this site makes it to the Beauty Bar tonight because it's gonna be good (and I'll have my camera!!)I know not everyone is happy about the reviews that their demos received in the issue. I just wanna advise that you take it with a grain of salt and to people who love music should do the same. Music journalists can be finnicky and had your demo been put in other hands, you might've gotten a completely opposite review. My best advice is people should go out and see these bands for themselves. I hate Sublime, but there's gotta be some reason they're still on the radio. (My mom thinks Bradley's voice is "sexy") I won't go to Disneyland because RHCP music is featured on some of the rides, and shit! they're headlining Coachella !? *****Missed announcement. Rush is playing Coors this summer. I don't give a shit about this, but it keeps popping up in my Google Alerts, so someone must care. They're playing July 30, presale tickets are available on their site from April 10-12. Don't expect me to remind you.*****I know you've seen the pics of Fergie (Black Eyed Peas) with a huge wet spot on her pants taken at Street Scene a couple years back. Until now, she's maintained that it was sweat. Now she finally admitted on the Dame Edna show in the UK that she peed. "We had to rush onstage before I had the chance to go to the restroom. It was a very embarrassing night for me." Well, I'm glad we can put that one to rest. In other news related to a band you don't care about, Taboo, also of the Black Eyed Peas, crashed his vehicle last night and was arrested for a DUI.*****This will also make my event listings, but this Saturday midnight, the director's cut of Donnie Darko is playing at Landmark's La Jolla Village Cinema. Damn, wish it was at the Ken instead.*****The Cat Empire have just announced a return stateside, with a show on May 8th at The Belly Up. Tickets can already be purchased on the Belly Up website for $18 plus a $3.25 convenience fee.*****The other day I mentioned that Tony Lovato, the singer of Mest, was arrested on charges of criminal homicide for stabbing to death his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend. Those charges have now been dropped. Says the District Attorney, "There had been threats, and the victim sent several threatening messages to the suspect. Apparently, there was some mutual combat and Lovato attempted to separate himself from the victim when the victim challenged him to a fight. The victim followed Lovato to an isolated spot in the underground garage and tried to fight him. Lovato defended himself, and there was insufficient evidence to show that it was not a justifiable use of reasonable force in self-defense." All the people who rushed to judgment on the Mest MySpace page are now eating crow.*****Normally I stick to the divier bars, but if you're a fan of Entourage, click here to enter to win tickets for you and a guest to Confidential for a hosted (hors d'oeuvres & drinks) party for the advance screening of the premiere of Entourage to be held Tuesday, April 3rd @ 8 pm. Or now that you know, maybe try crashing. *****The Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle has a pre-sale offer. A 3-day pass is a mere $60. That is insanely cheap. I would love to go, but not likely. Join their online community here for access to the low priced tickets.*****ciao...out for now...

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Tim Westergren, the founder of Pandora, part of the Music Genome Project, is speaking tonight in North Park at 7pm. The discussion is free and open to anybody interested in Pandora, Internet Radio, the Music Genome Project, current trends in digital music, etc. Hey Dave (vMix), you should come! It is taking place tonight at 7pm Arts & Entertainment Center, Peacock Alley3026 University AveSan Diego, CAThanks to Ryan for the tip and I'll post all about it tomorrow.

A young site run by a veteran show-goer known only as “Rosey.” If you’ve been to a show in San Diego, chances are you’ve rubbed elbows with Rosey waiting for adrink or been annoyed by her camera flash. But it’s for your own good! Thosephotos, along with event reviews and a selective show schedule, end up on herblog. “If I could be in 15 places at once, these are the places I’d go,” shesays. The native San Diegan offers witty reports on newsworthy items andoccasional gossip in a refreshingly inclusive forum.

Go there now: For a thorough “Things To Do” list for the “indie/wouldn’t-be-caught-dead-at-On-Broadway types” and quality photos of sexy local bands with clever hair cuts.

God, I'm kind of a big deal. OK, not at all, but for this and several other reasons, I was inspired to finally get a domain name. You can still reach me through http://sddialedin.blogspot.com , but my new official address is http://www.sddialedin.com . I'm still working in Blogger, so you won't notice a difference, except that my url will now fit on a bar napkin when it comes up in conversation.

Thanks to CityBeat and congrats to all the bands who got a ton of love in the issue. I am so proud to live in this city and to be a part of the music community here. Hope to see everyone at the CityBeat Party tomorrow for Grand Ole Party, Swim Party and the Airlines.

I got an e-mail today from my friend Tina that it was 15 years ago today that she met Ricky, her husband now of several years, at a party at my house. A huge shout out to Variety Pak for playing that show- Tricky, Froot Loop...who else was there? Man, I was booking shows at 14! *****I loved the Delta Spirit debate yesterday. CatDirt wrote, too, and you can see his post here with all the comments he generated. I will link the article in CityBeat as soon as they post their stuff on the web. (what is taking so long CB?)Finally, here's the link.*****Kallao, a dj on 91x, is a phenomenal photograher. He's posted a tons of pics from SXSW and his personal blog entries that accompany those photos on Flickr. You can see all of it here.*****TAANG! Records is requesting submissions from Independent Hardcore bands (from all locales, not just San Diego). Get them your music by April 10, at which time they will choose bands and host a showcase show. Friend request them on their MySpace page and click on the blog. Or just go to the store and say hi to Curtis and Miggs and the rest of the guys there.*****There's some great stuff in the Reader's "Blurt this week". Street Scene in Del Mar? (CatDirt was on that a couple weeks ago, but still.) Hot Monkey Love cancels rap shows. Most interesting: House of Blues has new talent buyers. I just got an e-mail from my friend this morning about the House of Blues:

I have been pretty clear about my feelings about House of Blues. The buyers can complain about low profits or people not going out on weeknights, but the truth is the HoB has bullied other venues outta shows by guaranteeing bands more cash, thereby raising ticket prices to a range most people aren't willing to pay regularly. I go there as the exception, not a rule. Dave now intends to write every band coming to town to let them know how the HoB jacks us. I just might do the same.*****Do you shop at Henry's? Wanna be on TV?

Henry's is shooting a new television commercial and we need your help!We believe our customers are the most important part of our business.That's why we've chosen to highlight you in our new commercial. We're lookingfor loyal Henry's customers who are passionate about shopping at Henry's FarmersMarket stores. To be considered for an appearance in our newcommercial, you just need to send an email to events@henrysmarkets.com with the following information: name, age, location of the store you shop at, picture and ashort paragraph about why you shop at Henry's.The deadline for entries is this Friday, March 30, 2007 -so don't delay! Must be available for filming Friday, April 6, 2007 at Carlsbadlocation.

*****I didn't go out last night so no real recap, but I did watch a lot of really bad tv so I thought that might be worth a recap for once:

7:30-8p:Entertainment Tonight: Gianna Versace's daughter is "fighting a brave fight against anorexia." From the autopsy, Anna Nicole did a shitload of prescription drugs, had a boob job, and an "unremarkable anus".

Simultaneous viewing from 8-9pm:

American Idol: crap. crap. crap. Gwen Stefani was the guest this week so the performers either did No Doubt songs or songs that inspired her. The stylist this week especially sucked. All the clothes were disgusting and I don't even need to comment about Sanjaya's hair. I can't believe I watched any part of this. I think I might have a crush on Simon. Troy Johnson would kick ass as a host on this show.

The Daily Show/Colbert Report (repeats from Monday): Alberto Gonzalez is a douchebag. John Oliver is hilarious. Colbert has another editing challenge.

Simultaneous viewing 9-10pm:

Dancing With The Stars: I know I'm not exactly in the 54-99 age demographic for this show, but I handled exactly 2 minutes of the show. While I appreciate the athleticism it takes to do some of the dances, I don't find anything sexy or appealing about any of it.

Bad Girls Club: I didn't even know this show was still on. I feel a marathon weekend coming up because I've missed the show for weeks. I didn't even know it was still on. Idiot chicks pretty much getting wasted all the time and then talking shit about each other getting wasted. Doesn't get much better than that. (Oh! Network)

Tori & Dean Inn Love: A pregnant Tori Spelling wanders around SoCal in search of a Bed and Breakfast to purchase where they will live and start a business. Looks like they decided on Temecula and were won over by the charm of Fallbrook.

Great American Dream Vote: You know any show hosted by Donny Osmond is going to be phenomenal. (I just threw up in my mouth a little) I don't really understand the show, but the four finalists voted on by the studio audience had the following "lifelong dreams":

bald guy: a full head of hair

midwest lady: turn her daughter into a rodeo queen

other blonde: open a dog sanctuary for aging hounds

jersey guy: open a flower shoppe for his wife

Clearly you can see the quality of this show. I didn't tune in long enough to see which two finalists made it to the American vote.

The Daily Show: The Dems snuck some ridiculous pork barrel language to their war spending bill in order to get enough votes for passage. Irritating, but probably done just to make a point stronger than a non-binding resolution because it will get vetoed by Bush who ha vowed to veto any bill with a timeline or benchmarks attached to it. The correspondent on there sucks now, I want Rob Corddry back. Dennis Miller is a fucking idiot.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

I haven’t yet pulled this site into the realm of album reviews because a thousand people can do it better than I can and frankly, I just don’t have the time. Today is different.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was contacted by the record label that represents Vega4 to listen to their music, post an MP3 and even offer tickets for their upcoming show in San Diego. Without even listening to the band, I was on board because they are opening for Augustana. They're a four piece out of London but consisting of two Irishmen, a Canadian, and a Kiwi. Their album is called "You and Others" and their album is available on iTunes or on the disc released by Columbia in the UK.Stop reading if you are instantly put off by a band for being played on Grey’s Anatomy.

If you’re still reading then I want to talk about my experience with Vega4 thus far. I received the MP3 last week and realized I’d not posted it yet. The song is called “Life Is Beautiful” and has been featured on Grey’s Anatomy. The first time I played it, it was background music for me. Then I played it again. And again. And again. Each time I heard more in the song I liked about it and wondered how I would explain it. Intially I thought it sounded like a sweet lullaby, the opening vocals accompanied by guitar and what sounds like a Fisher Price rainbow xylophone that is standard in any daycare. Then the song climbs and rises to a place where you might think this song belongs on Snow Patrol’s Final Straw. A good thing if you’re like me and were crushed from the first time you heard that album. I found myself feeling the same hopeful kinda longing with this song that I felt with Aqualung’s “Brighter Than Sunshine” or when I first heard “Yellow” by Coldplay.

Then the song did something completely unexpected. At 4 minutes and 38 seconds into the song (yeah, not a little 2 minute jobber), a whole chorus of voices come into the song, much like “Make This Go On Forever” does on the latest Snow Patrol album, but it also reminded me of James’ “Sit Down” recorded live with an entire arena singing along. The song is cathartic in an everything is gonna be ok kinda way.

When I got home, I was happy to find the whole album in my mailbox. It is very easy to lump Vega4 in with the bands I’ve already mentioned, and either you like those bands and want as many bands producing a similar sound to do so, or you want them all to go away. I love Keane, Starsailor, Aqualung, Snow Patrol and their ilk, which is why they’re so often referenced on my blog. That is not to say they are all the same, each has their own qualities that I appreciate, but there is some commonality among them. Vega4 even reminded me of a band called Blameless that I only know from a 5 song ep I have from 1996.

The rest of the album is full of Grey’s Anatomy worthy music; songs about love and relationships and trying to work out being a grown up with grown up problems and adult relationships. Basically about the angst you felt at 13 that was supposed to go away but was still there at 22, and is still there now. “Let Go” particularly jumped out at me unexpectedly. I wasn’t even paying attention really, and then I hear the lyric. “I’ve confused our connection for love.” Totally simple, and singled out, probably totally cheesy. But god, ain’t it the truth? More than a handful of sour memories from my own life come flooding to my mind as I hear it repeating in my head and repeating in the chorus and I feel angst. Like a 13 year old all over again. Or a 22 year old. Or the 30 year old that I am.

I cannot wait to see this band open for Augustana in April. If the ticket giveaway works out, I will post all the info you need. Until then, enjoy the MP3 of “Life Is Beautiful”.yousendit: "Life Is Beautiful" Vega4

Promoter- Tim Pyles vs. Action Jackson. Tie.This was tough. I love Tim and have been to all but one of the Anti-Monday League shows and was pretty regular on his nights at the Beauty Bar, too. I really believe in what he's doing for local music and the whole music scene in this town. He takes risks on bands with little or no experience because he knows local music isn't just one genre...he tries to bring together all the little niche scenes to make one cohesive San Diego music scene. Action Jackson is relatively new to San Diego but wasted no time in jumping into it all and really busting his ass to make things happen here. This night was billed to be alt-country and I thought it might be a good night to dust off my boots.

Proximity- Scolari's is 1/3 of the distance from my house than the Casbah. On most nights this wouldn't really matter, but my pre-bar nap went a little overtime and both shows were to start early.

Bands-The main reason I would've gone to the Casbah was to see The Burning of Rome. The band is really good and I like that they made the entire CD available for free download. I have yet to see them live. Unfortunately, they supposedly started at 9, right when my nap was ending. I had also heard great things about The Nurses. I have seen Buddy Akai plenty of times, so that wasn't critical to my decision about the night.

Dusty Rhodes and the River Band were playing Scolari's and I have friends who were at SXSW and swore they were one of the top bands they'd seen. I had not seen Doomsday Device before so I was into seeing a new band. And finally eSen was my decision maker. I'm a huge fan of BlogSanDiego and when you get an e-mail invite, even if it's sent to a hundred people on a list, you're more inclined to feel attached. I wanted to go meet Eric "IRL" (in real life) to put a face to the blog.

So with all this process, even though it made me feel unfaithful in a weird way, I chose to go to Scolari's. I am so glad I did.

I arrived around 9:20 and while there was some delay before the bands started, a lot of people were gathering in the bar. I was surprised how many people were out, and I really haven't been there with that many people turning out for a show.

eSen started the show. A two piece with guitars and a Korg keyboard they were really heavy. Eric has a couple other projects. Maquiladora is an alt-country project and he has a Japan-noise project, and this project, eSen, brings them together. Mostly slow and building up to a peak, this is music I wish I could sing along to in a space where I know nobody else would hear me. It also kinda made me wish I was sipping on some whiskey instead of the drink I had. Hopefully they'll get some sort of MySpace profile up soon. eSen will hopefully get some shows with The Vision of A Dying World.Pre-apologies, I cannot make my photographs work in Scolari's. Here are some shots anyway.Doomsday Device was up second and unfortunately we spent most of the set sitting at the bar completely blocked by a chick who apparently didn't realize she's 5'9 and who stood right in front of us. Not like kinda in front of us, which really has to be forgiveable there where there is limited space, but like 7" from the tip of my nose to her back. I liked their sound a lot at first, thinking they kinda have a Cold War Kids funkiness to them, but they're very unpolished and I don't know if that is their style or part of playing at Scolari's. Even more people showed up during their set and while I did get a few pics, not one came out decent, but here's the singer.Dusty Rhodes and the River Band were last up for the night and even more people showed up. All of Vinyl Radio caught the Nurses at The Casbah then went to Scolari's. There were probably 40 people there, but the band was using a lot of floor space so it felt especially crowded. From the very first note from the very first song, I was blown away. The violin/fiddle gave it a "Devil Went Down To Georgia" feel and at times his vocals might make you think of Jack Black with not as much comedy but similar exaggeration. They have a lot of crowd participation...singing along and hand claps mostly, and there were a ton of girls there dancing along and rocking out. This music was compelling enough for all that ass shakin and Dusty, the frontman, was so full of energy. They only had two mics, and one of them went out during the set, but they just rolled with it, sometimes three of them singing into the same mic. As you can see, they had 6 people and a lot of instruments, and if I hadn't already been won over, the accordion would've been that extra thing that made me love them. The fortunate thing is that these guys are from Anaheim so hopefully we can beg them to come back down and play our lovely town. I tried video but it was so dark it was pointless. Don't miss this band if they come around again. You will be hearing lots from them, I'm sure.

I like Delta Spirit. I really do. I like their sound. I think they're nice guys. Jonathan was kind enough to find my blog about the band in which I basically said they're a little too over the top for Jesus for my tastes. He pointed out that I'd misquoted a lyric and that the band's intent is to be all inclusive and they're not trying to be preachy. After that, I went back and listened to their music again, and whether I like it or not, it still sounds overwhelmingly, at times for me, overbearingly, religious. Regardless, I like them. But now I'm a little peeved. Tomorrow's CityBeat is the local music issue. Several bands will be featured and highlighted, but the cover features Grand Ole Party and Delta Spirit. It is no secret that GOP is from San Francisco, but every time I've talked to Kristin, she has been glad to say they are a San Diego band, that it was this scene that nurtured them and welcomed them. San Diego is a city of imports, so as long as they continue to give props to San Diego, I hope they go really, really far.Delta Spirit is a different situation. Jonathan told me that 3 members live in Carlsbad and two live in San Clemente/Dana Point. "Our music feels a bit more at home in LA, I guess." That is a perfectly ok position to have. But when you represent, you need to represent. For the recent South By Southwest music festival, the band is listed as an Orange County band. San Diego is NOT Orange County. Maybe the festival required a designation. "Pick one." Maybe. But as a proud San Diegan, I feel dissed. And if I were a band that proudly screams from the rooftops that I am from San Diego, I would be a litle peeved that a local mag doing an article on local music would put a band that is only local when it's convenient, whether by their designation, management, what have you. Even Jewel (from Alaska) and Jason Mraz (Virginia?) claimed San Diego as home long after they sold thousands of records.I really welcome comments and opinions on this because I would like to know if I'm outta line. This reminds me of being in high school and several local bands being pissed that Stone Temple Pilots won an SDMA in 1993 for Album of The Year. I've also heard bands grumble when other bands get signed without playing this town a whole lot but I think that grumbling comes from other motivation. I don't know, I'm just throwing this out there. Also, a disclaimer: I have not seen the cover nor read any of the features from tomorrow's CityBeat, I've only heard that those bands are on the cover.

You probably know Action Jackson from the great shows he puts on at Scolari's, The Ché Café. and occassionally other venues like the Ken Club. Or maybe you know him for his band The Vision of A Dying World. Now you can add label owner to his credentials. Craig of the Powerchords and Jackson are starting a label called Single Screen Records. The first album they put out will be from local boys The Sess. Jackson says they will focus mostly on the San Diego market in both bands and promotion, booking and sales.*****Bad news from Arcade Fire. This is the letter posted by Win on the band's website:

Hello Friends,I am backstage at the venue in Oslo and I just had to make the very sad decision to cancel the rest of the European tour. I have been suffering from a sinus and bronchial infection for the last 3 months, and last night in Stockholm I finally pushed my voice and body farther than they are able to go. Last night I kept yelling at the monitor guy because I didn't recognize the sound that was coming out of the monitor as my own voice, and it took me until the second song to realize that the sound was coming from me. Today I can barely speak, or make any sound, so finishing the shows is no longer possible.I have had several doctors advise me to cancel shows weeks ago, and I have been trying to push through, but for my own health and safety I need to have sinus surgery so I can get better and start the recovery process. We are all very sad, because we were very much looking forward to playing these shows, and we could not imagine cancelling a show unless it was physically impossible to do. We apologize to the fans that have been waiting to see us, and we promise to try and come back as soon as it is humanly possible...We would like to thank everyone who has been coming to the shows, and the outpouring of love and support for our music that we have felt. Wish me luck with the doctors,And see you soonluv,Win

There is no other information, but as yet, no American dates have been cancelled. And let's hope that none of the dates are dropped.*****Not that this really clears anything up, but Dinosaur Jr. is reuniting but when they start the tour at the Casbah, the show is listed as J Mascis and Friends. The Casbah newsletter says "May 10th you might as well call it Dinosaur Jr, but it is listed as J Mascis and Friends! Although all shows billed immediately after the Casbah show are listed as Dinosaur Jr..." Um, thanks for clarifying.*****I never make a big deal about MySpace friend requests from bands. I listen and sample the music, and approve or deny based brashly based on how I feel about a song in the first 20 or 30 seconds. Today I got a request from a band called Absynthe Minded from Belgium that I am really digging. You might, too. Check them out here. Vocally, they kinda remind me of Midlake. They're signed to Universal in Belgium.

*****Some of today's new releases:Kaiser Chiefs- Yours Truly, Angry MobstersJohn Butler Trio- Grand NationalKate Havenevik- Melankton (good for fans of Imogen Heap)Grant Lee Phillips- Strangelet (playing at the Belly Up April 23)The Klaxons- Myths of the Near Future******Black Wax is putting together a compilation CD of local San Diego music. Here's the blog about it:

We are currently working on a local music compilation that will be available at Black Wax in El Cajon, Ca along with other suppliers! The CD will be available in about 2 months and will feature a variety of different musical tastes! It will be co-sponsored by local music supporting companies and bands! The CD will be most likely free but if not then it will be dirt cheap. We are working out all the details now and will soon have more info and updates including the names of some of the bands featured on the compilation! If you are a band or company that would like to co-sponsor this project then just send us a message and let us know! The more sponsors, the more copies of the CD can be made and distributed. So all of you music fans and local music supporters keep your eyes and eyes open for updates and you can anticipate an amazing compilation of music!

That's a lot of! Exclamation Points! But if you're interested in contacting them, click here for the MySpace page.

Side note: eSen is the latest projectBlogSanDiego blogger extraordinaire, Eric Nielsen. He's promised to playsome old Maquiladora tracks, too. The show is free and Troy Johnson called it the best Alt-Country show in town.

In the ever shuffling of drummers for Vinyl Radio, Dusty, former drummer of Cape May, is going to be joining the band. The band decided he was a better fit and has long been a good friend. After a tour to SXSW, with no bad feelings to Cooper, they felt that Dusty should've been there with them. Buddy Rose (their original drummer) will be playing the Ken Club show on April 6th with Roman Spring, The Sundelles, and the Muslims. Dusty's first show with Vinyl Radio will be April 28th at the Casbah.Vinyl Radio's music was also used for a commercial for The Village Hat Shoppe. Check it out!

*****VMix is really irritating me and the embedded videos below just aren't working for everyone, so if you'd like to see the videos of The Small Hours, please just link to my Vmix page here.*****Last thing for now- I still have an InSound coupon for you. Enter coupon code 'good_music_rules' for 10% off your order until 4/9/07. Click the Insound link on the right side of this webpage. Andrea finally took my advice and got her Earlove Earplugs. They're $10 and worth it in every way.****

Finally, some information about the Morrissey on-sale:Morrissey With special guest Kristeen YoungSunday, June 3, 2007Viejas Concerts at BaysideOn sale Saturday, March 31 at 10am*****Who knew? NME reports that Victor Willis, the "police officer" from The Village People was arrested this weekend in San Diego for choking his girlfriend and threatening her with a knife. Really when I read this I was just puzzled. Girlfriend? I thought the whole thing with the Village People was that they were gay. Guess not.*****Tony Lovato, singer of pop punk band Mest, has been arrested. He allegedly stabbed and killed his ex-girlfirend's new boyfriend. His bail has been set at a million dollars. An old friend of mine was the manager of Mest a long time ago and a couple times they'd come to San Diego (usually with Goldfinger) and I hung out with them. Not really enough to make a judgment, but seemed like a cool enough kid. Any way you look at this news really, its just tragic. *****

Every once in a while, and probably not as frequently as I should, I’ll see a band playing in town soon and I’ll check out their MySpace and just fall in love. Such was the case with The Small Hours. Especially endearing is when you contact a band and they’re cool about messaging back and you just know from the get go that they are good people. It had also been a long time since I’d been to Brick By Brick, the last time being when the Honey Brothers played. Christy, the owner/bartender has opened a restaurant next door and I realized just how long it had been since I’ve been there.

Unfortunately and fortunately, the other bands on the bill had cancelled. Bad because a local band might’ve brought more people to the show, good because I was home by midnight so I can write for you now. I had contemplated skipping the show; Sundays are always hard and Swim Party and Calla were playing at the Casbah, but I mustered up the energy and headed to the Morena district.

I am so glad I did.

The Small Hours are a four piece based in LA with two members from the UK and two from here which lets them fit in with the UK sound you’d hear from Starsailor, Keane, and Aqualung, if he were more rockin. Next time they play here, I’d like to see them play with bands like A Weeks Worth, Evervess and Swandive, and maybe Republic of Letters.

It was such a good time because I got to talk to Christy, who I’d not seen since the Music Awards, and met a woman visiting from Austin named Sherry, who then introduced me to her husband, her step daughter Maura, who is the girlfriend of Robin, the lead singer of The Small Hours, and at the end of the night, we all hung around shooting the shit with the band until I had to head home. Talented band and such good people made this a really fun evening. The crowd was very thin and the bar was working at a loss, but for those of us there, there was no losing, because this is definitely a band to see.

I took some pics and stuff to upload on YouTube. I forgot that the stage at Brick By Brick is so huge, so sorry that the video isn’t better and more inclusive of the whole band, but it’s the best I can expect from a camera that is smaller than my wallet. Also, I had to use vmix because my video was too big for youtube, so sorry if the video is riddled with tech issues.This song is called Sunday.

I would also like to emphasize that Brick by Brick can and should be a venue better utilized by San Diego bands. It’s not all metal like it was with the previous owners. I’ve seen Fountains Of Wayne and Keane on this stage and more bands should be pestering the owners to get the opportunity to play here.

It’s way beyond bedtime now, so I’m out. I haven’t quite decided if Monday will take me to the Casbah or Scolari’s but between the two, you should not be staying home on Monday night.

My work here is done.

Here's another Vmix video for the song "Kind". Hopefully it works, I've not had good experiences with vmix up to this point.

Saturday night involved some seriously good music and some serious alcohol consumption. Before heading to the Ken Club for Morgan Young’s Birthday Circus, Matt (Vinyl Radio) and Andrea came over to my house and we had some cocktails and some red headed slut shots to prep us for the evening ahead. I don’t wanna be a total asshole here, but I have to give props to Rob the bartender for getting us into the show. $7 cover may be nothing to you if this is the only show you go to all week, but I’ve put in my time at the Ken Club, gathering glasses when the bar is slammed, straightening up the bathroom when it is frightening, and even plunging the toilet when some idiot clogs the thing, so I feel entitled to a lifetime of not paying cover there, and thanks to Morgan for being cool about it.

We got to the bar just before 10 and had plenty of time before Pop Noir started. While the flyer for the show said they’re from the UK, it is my understanding that they’re from Long Beach, but maybe I need to look into that. Fronted by twins on bass and guitar (and occasional keys) they had a drummer which made me happy because one of the DJs on Indie 103 played them the other day and said their initial demo was full of “cheesy drum machine beats.” If I was moved to dance ever, this is a band I might’ve danced to. But as I’m not inclined to publicly shake my ass, I snapped some shots of them instead. I thought they were fun to watch and there seemed to be a good crowd while they played.

In between bands, a gang load of people headed to my house for more shots and to use the bathroom since quite a line had developed at the bar. When we got back, Silverbird had just started and the room was packed. I love their alt country sound, full with lap steel and keys, drums, bass and guitar. I even like when they drop the “alt” stuff and play straight up old country sounding stuff reminiscent of Marty Robbins and that generation of musicians. I did notice the crowd shrinking, maybe not expecting so much county, maybe just not in the mood for some of the slower paced music, and maybe just hanging out because so many familiar faces were in the bar, but I thought they were phenomenal.

Again I ran to my house between bands. I was getting pretty lit by this time and so thankful I’m such a short walk from the bar. Back at the bar for Bella Vista and it was one of those nights you just don’t want to end because you’re having such a great time, there’s a good crowd of friends there hanging out, and everyone is just really in the moment.

Bella Vista was the final band and Matt loves them and I can see how their sound would translate well with the guys in Vinyl Radio, playing rock with a late 70s sound to it. I took some pics but by that point of the night was definitely no music critic. Not that I really ever am, anyway, but especially not this night.

(Is he not Vinyl Radio Matt's doppelganger??)

The bar may have closed at 2, but the party continued at my house until the wee hours. Thanks to everyone who came, hung out, and made it such a fun night.